Evergreening clause dropped after stiff opposition from India

The Daily Excelsior reports that provisions relating to the evergreening of patents have been dropped from RCEP negotiations after stiff opposition from India.

‘Evergreening’ involves making extremely minor changes to a patented product as a product expires, triggering a new period of patent protection:

“It may be noted that some RCEP countries had tried to introduce a clause in favour of evergreening of patents, which was dropped after stiff opposition from India,” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

About The Author

Edward is a political activist and trade unionist. Qualified in law and currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Edward was deeply involved in the NZ campaign to stop the TPPA from 2012 to 2015. He is now trying to use his position in the Asia-Pacific to promote activism around issues like TPPA and RCEP amongst workers and unions in the region.